Thanks for coming! I plan to post a lot of interesting articles and comment on a wide range of things-- from political to religious, from private to public, from formal writing on public policy to snippets on random observations.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

markets and morality in China OR China as a future "city on a hill"?

Zhao Xiao, one of China's top economists, started reading the Bible in 2002 while traveling in the United States and researching a paper on American business culture....

Zhao, who lives in Beijing with his wife and two daughters, professed Christ in 2004 but remains a member of China's Communist Party...still a professor of economics at Beijing Polytechnic University and a commentator on government-run China Central Television.

...Zhao can be such an outspoken Christian in a communist country in part because he has worked at the highest levels of government and shown that he is no threat to the authorities: A dissident with the same views would not have so much freedom...Because Zhao is not challenging the Party, officials allow him to show that Christian ideas will benefit Chinese society.

The paper Zhao wrote in 2002, "Market Economies With Churches and Market Economies Without Churches," boosted his reputation....

Zhao argues that Chinese people already have strong traditions that value hard work, education, and a willingness to learn from outside sources; the need now is for a culture that honors covenants....

[He believes that] It is the blessings of the 'transformation with the Cross' that will bring China sustainable society and economic development." If this happens, he believes China could enter another Golden Age of world prominence with its success based on Christianity instead of Confucianism or Taoism. He likens this possibility to a Chinese "Great Awakening," with China itself the new "city on a hill."

About Me

First and foremost, I am saved by God's grace as manifested most clearly through the atoning death of Jesus Christ-- and thus, adopted into His family. As a result, I increasingly seek to extend His grace to others in my daily life. On the home front, I am a husband and father to four young men (two by adoption and two the more conventional way). Professionally, I am an economist who loves to teach and is active in public policy circles. Vocationally, I am an active writer and the author of three books (one on the book of Joshua; two on public policy-- one secular, one Christian). Finally, I am the co-author of a 21-month discipleship curriculum, Thoroughly Equipped (and a lighter 36-week version), for developing competent lay-leaders in the Church. Related to that work, Kurt and I have two books, Enough Horses in the Barn and Roll Up Your Sleeves.